39 comments to Signing off in your emails

After using ‘Sincerely’ in the US I learned in the UK that sign-off is appropriate for someone you already know. ‘Best regards’ seems to be the general accepted one here in business. I’m not big on warm, kind, care or wishes from someone communicating for the first time, though if there’s a history of emails or letters then I think you know each other a bit and it’s fine. Not that it would offend me at all, I just wouldn’t use it myself. ‘Cheers’ is my casual sign-off with people I already know in more casual communications, my British adaptation I suppose. 😉 ‘Ta’ is my Scottish Dundee-acquired thanks/goodbye word that I use with friends. ‘All the best’ for a end-of-the-line email though (no further communication)

I use a variety of sign-offs including: Thank you, Thanks, Thanks again, Sincerely, Thank you for your consideration, and other forms of gratitude for the recipient’s time. Sincerely is usually used if I’m not asking for help, consideration, time, or simply thanking them for a nice comment or action.

I use “Warm Regards.” I hear what Tina (above) is saying, but usually these are e-mails or newsletters to people who have signed up to receive them, so it’s not first contact. I also use Warm Regards when initiating contact with galleries, though. The gallery-artist relationship is different from most business relationships; it’s more like, you know, a *relationship.* BTW, after that sign off I always include, at the bottom of my e-mail, a standard, “This message was sent to [e-mail address]” and give them the opportunity to unsubscribe if they want to. I guess that’s also part of my sign off.

“Take Care” is my standard – seems more personal, and I think it’s appropriately friendly whether I know the person well or not. Like Michael said above, I find that artist-gallery and artist-collector relationships are more personal than other business relationships.

• Best Regards, (reserved for my more formal emails or first contact emails) • Best, (a little colder feeling to me, but I use it occassionally) • Cheers, (my fave – it’s happy and sincere without feeling too stuffy) Sincerely feels too formal and antiquated to me, especially with so many other options out there. Each closing has it’s time and place, depends on the “mood” of the letter/email for me. If someone contacts me first, I will often take notice of what closing THEY use and end with that in my responding email as a way to make them feel comfortable. One rule I definitely believe in though: NEVER use smileys 🙂 or 🙂 (with the exception of knowing the person personally and even then… SPARINGLY!)

I tend to sign off with: “Sincerely” or “Respectfully yours” if it’s for some kind of application or submission. “Best” or “Best regards” if it’s an acquaintance. (I’ll confess, I’m sick of these. I have one acquaintance who always signs his emails “Allah best,” which made me smile.) “Warm regards” or “Affectionately” or “Warmest wishes” if I’m feeling that way and am more connected with the person.

mmmmh, well is my personal opinion that it would depend on who I’m emailing, but as a general rule of thumb I find myself using the most: Thank you, Thank you and have a great day (I don’t use it for the first email, but if they reply to my first email, then I usually use this one) Best Regards, I like Yours truly, It sounds very polite and personal at the same time. I don’t use “Sincerely” too much, although I’ve used it a couple of times. MV./

For unknown or very business oriented contacts I like to use “kindest regards”. Since I have a pet oriented client base I will often add an additional sign-off at the end of my client form letters “wags & sniffs from Big Tommy, Ajax & Pixel”. It is a shout out from my pets to theirs. It is corny and casual, but it brings it all back to what I am about … the animals.

I think “Cheers” is a very UK sign-off. I use it all the time with friends and anybody where I’m sending a pat on the back/happy message I use “Regards” as my standard person to person when (a) I don’t know the person well, or (b) it’s purely business, or (b) this is a very factual unchatty email I use “best wishes” for people I have had previous correspondence with and where I’m likely to have had a teeny bit of chat/small talk element to the email I use “Thanks” when people have said something nice to me and/or I’ve asked them to do something for me I use very funny ones and/or smilies only for people I know very well indeed! I’m really not a fan of “warm” anything – except warm salads!

In Hawaii, where I used to live, people usually sign off with “Aloha” or “With Aloha”, even to business associates. I now use “Ciao” “Best” and “Cheers” and “Warm Regards” for something more business like.

Onwards. A very dear 98 year old friend of mine signs his letters “Onwards” and I often use that. It can be used formally or informally. Formally I use Sincerely, or Best Wishes, or Best Regards. Informally, I might use Happy Trails but almost always use xxx. My brother retaliates by signing yyy. It’s a battle of the chromosomes.

It all depends on who I am writing to. Less is more so, often I just use my initials: MMc which have now evolved into a nickname. I absolutely hate “thanks” it is so overused so I tend to avoid. “Best” seems so, well, WASP-ish. Sometimes, just for fun, I will sign off: I remain, very truly yours, with best wishes for your continued success, your devoted, {Colleague}, {wife}, {mother}, {sister} choose one.

Close friends— xoxo, Love and Hugs, Smoooootch New Business— Best regards Other friends and ongoing business, depending on who they are, what our relationship is, and what the correspondence is about— Cheers— (It’s, well, cheery) Best— (not so often, a bit bland) Ciao— (jaunty) All the best—! (use often tho’ overdone) Thanks so much! (when giving thanks) Chat soon and thanks!(simple and direct) Take good care— (only when thin ice evident) See you soon! Hope to catch up with you soon— To be continued, in Paris perhaps? Oh, for some coffee! And now back to work! And, now back to work!!

In my work as an artist representative, I frequently use the signoffs preferred by my primary client: Blessings Bright Blessings As always, thank you for supporting my art All of these fit with the feminist, pagan/spiritual work she produces. In business communication, I frequently open an email with a “Thank you for your interest/question/order….” etc, and then end the email with “Thank you again.” I still haven’t found a unique, individual way to sign off on personal email. Everything I experiment with feels like it’s stolen from someone else (such as “Virtually Yours,” and “Big Love,”) or for a person who’s not quite me (such as “Namaste,”.) I usually end up defaulting to “Much Love,” “More soon,” or “Be well.”

As some have already mentioned, it depends a great deal on the existing relationship. I was brought up in England and old habits die hard. One is “sincere” with friends and “true ” or “faithful” with business acquaintances. Having said that, there are a great many relationships in the online art world that defy such simplistic definitions. I have a collector in Texas who has bought several of my paintings and her emails are so warm and chatty that it would be churlish to treat her as just a customer. I usually find myself closing with “Thanks again”.

I use ‘kind regards’ at work if the email if going outside the company, and ‘cheers’ for internal emails to colleagues. From home I use ‘love’ to family and closest friends, ‘kind regards’ for the rest.

Here in Australia, the standard in arts and media circles is to use “Kind Regards” to sign emails to people you don’t know, are just getting to know or don’t contact often. This tends to be followed by your name written in full. “Cheers” is used when you have a good working relationship and is usually followed by just your first name. You drop all phrases when you know someone really well and just sign your first name. It’s great to read what the standards are in other countries … not to mention very handy in our global society.

Here in Spain, where a treatment or business with people who do not know Sincerely A Greetings Greetings Best regards Friends or people I know in time, or people who just know, but we have sympathized away. A hug Friends: Kisses A kiss

Alyson: As always you give us something to think about. I sign my business emails to clients and business colleagues, “Here’s to taking action.” However in less formal emails I don’t sign off with anything except by name. If it is a business email with someone other than a client I might use Sincerely. This is actually a good reminder to use something. I think emails can become too casual and the basics of good manners and writing are forgotten. Sincerely, Rachelle

[…] That’s good enough reason to hit the old Delete button. FAST! If people aren’t kind enough to sign their name, you have no reason to be kind enough to respond. That’s one of my first rules with responding to […]